change versus more of the same

October 29, 2006

Here at last is the official cover of The Blogging Church! A book cover is much more important, and difficult, than I would have ever imagined. You spend 9-12 months writing thousands of words, yet many people will decide whether to purchase the book based on a quick glance at the front and back - both of which were designed in less than a month by people you've never met. And I'm the same way - a cover can say a lot.

Amazon makes it easy to browse book covers to try to find good examples. I saved the images of 30+ covers, ran them by a couple of top-notch focus groups, and then sent the five favorites to the publisher. The goal was to find something that looked modern and slightly technical, but still somewhat timeless. It was a challenge to find a good compromise - the publisher didn't care for the Nietzsche and Kant book covers I kept sending and no one liked the stock photos of multi-cultural people smiling around a laptop that they provided.

In the end, I like the final result. Something about it is both happy and inspirational to me, but then, it does have my name on it. The true test will be to see it in its physical, rather than digital, form. I hope you enjoy it and can imagine reading it at your local Starbucks with pride!

October 25, 2006

The book writing process is officially over and the final edits are complete! In fact, I won't see the book again until it's printed and shipped in January. Of course, I've already thought of a couple of things I wish were in there but aren't, but I'll be sharing those periodically as the release date nears.

In the meantime, I thought this would be a good time to do some work on BloggingChurch.com. The site has been a great help during the writing process, and hopefully people have learned a few things along the way. Terry recorded some terrific podcasts that were enlightening, entertaining, and provided some great content for the book. The comments and feedback were also helpful.

Now, I'd like to continue that conversation here. As I've mentioned before, I think it's best to pour your writing and ideas into a single blog if at all possible. I don't recommend simply duplicating content into two different locations, especially since many of you subscribe to both blogs already.

October 17, 2006

Two of my favorite web apps are getting a fresh set of improvements. The first is Google's newsreader for reading blogs and other RSS feeds. The original version was quite nice, but I eventually drifted back to my favorite desktop newsreader, NetNewsWire. After hearing Scoble rave about the recent upgrade, I decided to give it another try.

All I can say is, Wow! It's very, very impressive. I've used it exclusively for a week and couldn't be much happier. The overall design and speed are huge improvements, and there's a number of friendly customization options that just make it more fun to use.

One of things I love is the excellent mobile access. From my cell phone, I can visit the Google Reader page and read the latest posts and star (flag) them for later reading. Since it's just a mobile version of the actual page, there is no syncing or anything - the changes are live. Google also makes it easy to create a link blog of items you want to share. I'll be playing with that soon.

Whether you've never used a tool to make blog reading easy or you are looking for an alternative to Bloglines, definitely give Google Reader a try.

They are previewing some of the new stuff through demos - the first one was just released and shows how organizing a packed Backpack page is about to get much easier.

The demos are worth watching even if you have no interest in Backpack - they're extremly well done. Short, clear, and to the point. And a wonderful example of how your marketing should match your products which matches the culture of your company - they are all one and the same.

October 13, 2006

ESPN posted a great interview with American goalie Tim Howard, currently playing for Everton in the English Premier League. I know, interviews with athletes aren't usually much to talk about, and this is with a soccer player no less, but Tim is a very interesting guy with a healthy perspective. He will likely be the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. National Team moving forward.
» Read the Article

Jason with 37Signals offered a terrific perspective on web development. It's tempting to continue to change and redesign pages before you've released anything. "Remember, there’s always time for change later. Premature change can be a problem. Once you’re really happy with something just stay away from it. Shift your focus to other things that need your attention."

Give your work a chance to stand on its own before you move on to the next new thing.
» Read the Article

The Economist is a fantastic weekly magazine with a deceptively humdrum title. The writing is some of the best you'll find anywhere and each week features articles on every area of the world, as well as business, finance, science, and the arts. My favorite feature is the surveys they run in nearly every issue that examine a topic in-depth - everything from poverty to California to blogging. The perspective is British and largely mainstream, but it's fair to different points of view.

Subscriptions are quite expensive, but there is a current offer that's the best you'll find. One year for $99, with a $25 Amazon gift certificate when you order. You also get full access to the magazine and it's archives online.
» Economist Offer

What do these three things have to do with each other? Absolutely nothing! Isn't the blogosphere great?

October 12, 2006

As if torn from the very pages of this blog, popular Apple rumor site Think Secret is reporting today that Bono will be appearing on Oprah tomorrow and will use the occasion to debut the brand-new red iPod nano.

The red nano is part of the new Red campaign started by Bono. Red-branded products help raise money for women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa. The tagline is "Designed to Help Eliminate AIDS in Africa".

October 11, 2006

In what many are calling a sure sign that a new bubble has arrived, Apple Computer (AAPL) today announced that the company had acquired the legendary rock band, U2. The transaction, which was confirmed before the markets opened this morning, was valued at $1.8B. Apparently the deal was pushed through late last night with some urgency, following Google's purchase of Web 2.0 darling YouTube for $1.65B.

Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs acknowledged as much in the statement released this morning:

"While many of our competitors are investing their shareholder's money in small, unproven, Web 2.0 companies, we've decided to invest in content. And there's no greater content than the ultimate Rock 'n Roll 2.0 band, U2. The band shares our commitment to excellence, passion for creativity, and love of a great melody."

U2, led by lead singer and noted humanitarian Bono, has been a fixture in Apple ads and is also featured on the only iPod designed for a band. Bono and Jobs have grown increasingly close during the past two years and merging the two world-renowned brands seemed like the logical next step.

The deal, with details still being finalized, assures U2 a prominent role in Apple's numerous media properties. U2 will be a permanent feature on the iTunes homepage, highlighting the band's entire music catalog, as well as all music videos and feature-length concerts through the iTunes Movie Store.

All future U2 albums will be available exclusively through iTunes for the first month of release and the band has agreed to produce a monthly podcast, giving people an inside look at life inside the world's most popular rock group. The podcast will also be an iTunes exclusive.

The new partnership is not one-sided, however. U2 will be the featured performers at a brand-new, three-day concert and Apple festival called MacStock. The annual event will take place in New Orleans and replaces the current Macworld Conference held each January in San Francisco. The three days will kickoff with a keynote from Jobs, followed by numerous general sessions, workshops, demonstrations and what Apple calls, "Interactive Explorations." Multiple "Art Tents" will be setup for artists of all kinds to demonstrate their craft.

The evenings will feature over five hours of music, concluding with a full U2 concert. The band is expected to tap many of its high-profile friends and musicians to populate the rest of the schedule. Fourty-percent of the proceeds from the festival will be donated equally to fight world poverty and rebuild New Orleans, causes shared by both Bono and Jobs. One proposal currently under consideration would dedicate the third day of the event to social causes and may include a "significant address" by a world leader. Names mentioned include President Bill Clinton, investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett, and Bono himself. With his recent and substantial push into charitable causes, Microsoft's Bill Gates is listed as a potential "surprise guest."

U2 is also providing over 250 exclusive music samples from throughout their career to produce the first "U2 Jam Pack", an add-on for GarageBand that will allow anyone to add a touch of U2 to their original composition. The pack will be available early next year for $69.

There is unconfirmed speculation that many of Apple's products will be renamed to reflect the new relationship, including iTunes - uTunes, iLife - uLife, and possibly the ultimate re-branding, iPod - uPod. A less likely scenario involves U2 renaming itself i2. Though a band does not exist by that name, a large technology company does, and most analysts remain skeptical.

All four members of the band will become Apple employees, though they will continue to operate out of Dublin.

"U2 connects with culture better than anybody I know," Jobs said in the release. "I look forward to working with them to develop insanely great products in the years to come."

The release closed with this quote from Bono: "Apple exists for the same reason U2 does - to make people smile, to make people think, to change the world, and send our kids to college. What can I say - it's a beautiful day!"

October 04, 2006

Isn't it fascinating how so many things are determined by your perspective?

The Wall Street Journal featured an article today about retirement: "An Age-Old Problem: How to Make Sure Your Money Lasts as Long as You Do". The focus was on how ever-increasing age expectancies mean that your lifetime savings may not be enough for you to live comfortably into your 80's or even 90's. Excellent story, good reminder, and even a well-done headline.

Here's the rather odd paragraph that caught me off guard:

"There may be 5% to 10% of 65-year-olds who are in poor enough health that they don't have to worry about living a long time,' says Ken McCullum, a senior vice president in Harford's wealth-management group. "But the other 90% or 95% could live a very long time. There's a lot of uncertainty for those folks." [emphasis added]

Yes, indeed. Thankfully, a few of us (we can only hope) will pass away before reaching 70. But God help me if I'm one of those unfortunate people who might "live a very long time" and face a great deal of uncertainty!

We've been taught to fear death, running out of money, terrorism, spinach, failing to provide for our children's future, computer viruses, going to school, and internet stalkers. I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone decided to profit by making us fear - living!